The kids are at home this week and next, and it is hard. As much as I'd like to believe in it, there are no "great dads" or even good dads. There are moms and dads who try every day to manage their own demons and stresses to be the best parents they can be. My wife often says I get too preachy about being a good parent, and she is somewhat correct. Because I have a work at home … [Read more...] about Count to ten – holiday stress
GreatDad Blog
Worst Dads: Dad charged with binding girl with tape
Maybe at this point, it's just piling on, but sometimes things people do with or to kids, supposedly thinking it's all in good fun, are just too much. Here a single dad saw his daughter playing with packing tape and decided it would be funny to wrap it around her legs and hands and over her mouth and post a picture on Facebook. To make matters worse, he labeled the photo … [Read more...] about Worst Dads: Dad charged with binding girl with tape
Signs of the inevitable separation
This week, as I do every year, I am putting together the 30 page iPhoto book recapping our year as a family. I add highlights and special pages for each of our kids detailing their adventures and triumphs. Most of the pages, though, are family shots of me or my wife hugging our kids desperately, while they still smile brightly in the embrace. I give the book to both grandmas as … [Read more...] about Signs of the inevitable separation
What is fair? Preparing kids for the cruel world.
I just had to pull the kids apart during an argument over lunch. "It's not fair," complained my son, now 7 years old. Where did they get this idea of fairness in life and how and when do we disabuse them of the notion that some omniscient justice will always be available to them? I now realize that nursery school is all about instilling this idea of fairness in little kids. In … [Read more...] about What is fair? Preparing kids for the cruel world.
Movember comes to an end!
So tonight, my kids helped me cut off my mustache and they are glad to have their dad back again. I just turned 54, so the facial hair that gets you into bars when you're 19, is not what you want to make you look older when you are, in fact, older. But the family had fun with the process since they can't remember the last time I grew my beard out, which about 2004. A friend of … [Read more...] about Movember comes to an end!